SYNOPSISIn a near dysfunctional future, ‘sometime quite soon’, an estranged and isolated composer, Jerome, lives alone in a shuttered high-rise flat, safe from the roaming gangs outside who practically rule the streets. His only company is his beloved music technology and a robot nanny, and she's on the blink.

Jerome is trying to compose a definitive work on love, but has had writer’s block ever since his wife, Corinna, left with their daughter, Geain, four years earlier. Desperate to see his daughter again, he decides to deceive his wife and a representative from the Department of Child Wellbeing, by enlisting the help of an out-of-work actress and his malfunctioning robot. When things don't work out, Jerome has to improvise. It's remarkable what can be done with a microchip, a screwdriver and a hair dryer...

"Henceforward" is one of Ayckbourn's quirky black comedies about human self-deception and isolation. As always with Ayckbourn, he manages to juggle humour and poignancy, laughter and pathos. The struggle of the artist - and the struggle for love - is explored in this dark, futuristic tale.

There are eight roles in the play, with two of the characters appearing only on video. Auditions will consist of cold readings from the play.

Please visit our auditions page for the full audition notice, including all the character descriptions and contact information.

“This brilliant play offers an ultimately bleak vision of men, machines and society. But the exhilarating Ayckbournian paradox is that the darker it gets the funnier it becomes” ~ The Guardian

“A superbly constructed comedy” ~ Daily Telegraph

“Nobody can be as funny as Alan Ayckbourn, or as frightening” ~ Financial Times